Omaha daily bee., 1887-12-23
CASES WHERE NERVE FAILS.
When Mon Who Know Not Fear
Are Frightened.
SEVERAL INSTANCES IN POINT
The Hunter Thrown Into the Water
With Crocodiics-A Man With a
Snake on His Brcast-Other
Trying Situations.

Now Ork sun. OH O1tcn near IL
said of u man that he doesn't seem to
know what fear is. He may not so far
as standing up before other men, or fac
ing ordinary dangers, but there are two
dangers which no living man can face
and hold his nerve very long. l assert
this, because it has been my fortune To
meet some Of the most courageous men
of this generation, and have had OPP
portunities to see their nerve under
fire.
There is probably no place in the
world where the man-eating shark
grows to larger proportions and fiercer
disposition than in the Gulf of Bengal.
And in the bays and harbors along the
coast the crocodile attains his full size
and his temper fully ripenV. While l
mail service in India one of the
ideas worked out was specdier
transportation. New routes were sell
ected to save distance, and wherever it
was possible the rivers were made use
Of. On one occasion l was descending
the Little Rangoon river with three
natives and the mail bags, when we
were hailed from shore by an English
hunter, who had been camping out
among the fierce wild animals and
poisonous serpents for seventy days. He
was entirely alone, and he had killed
five leopards, three tigers, six or eight
large serpents, and much other game.
He had several fresh scars to prove a
handto-hand conflict with a wounded
tiger, and the bare fact of his being
alone in that country, exposed to almost
every danger one could dream
of, was proof that he was
brave man. He had raft
at the bank and was about to cross the
stream. After visit of II quarter of an
hour we took him in tow and dropped
down about a mile. We had just
headed for the other bank when / saw a
large crocodile rise to the surface JUS
behind the hunters raft. The man had
not entered the boat with us, but WAS
sitting on his traps on the raft. | called
to him to shoot the reptile, and he rose
and made as pretty shot as one ever
saw, striking the saurian in the eye and
killing him at once. We were applaud
ing the shot when a dozen of the mon
sters broke water all about the raft.
We had II tow rope about forty feet
long. and were it's full length ahead of
the raft. None of the reptiles paid the
least attention to the boat, but all
seemed determined to make closer
| acquaintance with the raft.
The hunter had repeating rifle, and
he stoodon his feet and banged away
| right and left as coolly rs you please. l
ordered the men to cease rowing and
got out my rifle, but before l had fired
a shot monster crocodile climbed upon
| the side of the light bamboo raft and
upset it. We backed water rapidly, and
| it was not over thirty seconds before
boat and raft had bumped. At
| that same instant the hunter rose be-
| side the boat, and one of tho natives
| pulled him in. While he lay on the
| bottom of the boat we rowed about and
| picked up such of his traps as were
atloat. 1t was very little we saved, L
his fire arms had gone to the bottom
and his skins ond pelts had been swiftly
devoured by the crocOdiles. When a
came to offer the man some spirits his
looks had changed, SO that l could
scarcely believe he was the same man.
! No one standing on the gallows trap
| could have been more broken up. He
had. scarcely swallowed the
whisky when he began to cry, and
he insisted that we cover him up in the
bottom of the boat. 1t was u whole fort
night before the man recovered his
| compOsure, while his nerve was gone
forever. He who had stood with drawn
knife awaiting the rush OF tiger. and
who carried marks 10 prove his bravery
and his victory, had been totally broken
up by an experience of less than two
minutes in the water with dozen crOco.
diles. 1t was the feeling that he was
In the case of the tiger he felt that he
had some little show. When he was
| flung into the water he realized that he
| none. have seen several men hung
who "died game" and who got the
credit of being brave fellows. 1t is al
| nonsense to talk about bravery in the
face of the hangman. "Dying game" i:
either the courage which comes from
stimulants furnished by the jailor, or il
is false enthusiasm due to the labors o.
the clergymen for many days past.
On one OF my trips up this same river
and hundred miles from the coast,
camped one night with party OF Brit
ish officers who were out on a hunt
The leader of the party, and the bes
shot and the bravest man in 1t, wal
Major Curtiss, a man about forty year:
old. He had killed more wild animal,
than any white man in the province
Armed only with a revolver, no hat
entered bungalow in which mur
derer was concealed and taken hin
away from crowd Of his friends ant
delivered him over to justice. On be
of e25 he had swan the river amid th'
| alllSaJOfS, ana ne WOulu SIdnu ior li'
rush of tiger or the spring of pan
ther with laugh on his lips. The!
said of the major that he did not know
what fear was. He, perhaps, though
so himself.
The camp was on the bank of the
river, and only temporary one, and M
tents or covers were erected. We sa
around the fires until a late hour, smok
ing and EARNING, and when we rollet
ourselves up for sleep the major and
were only about four feet apart, will
nothing between us. The camp grev
silent at once, and everybody was sooi
sound asleep. | was just doing off whel
| thought detected the crawl OF Il snall'
near me, but, after listening closely TO
a minute, l concluded that it was
lizard or insect. The air, the earth
the forests and the waters OF India ar
full of animal life by day and by night
A camp no sooner grows quiet than wil'
rats and mice, lizards, great beetles
and three or four sorts OF squirrel
begin to prospect around, while nigh
birds circle about and the wolf, fox
jackal, hyena, and other animals draw
near. Snakes are always to be feare d
but If one started up at every sus
picious sound he would never get al
hours sleep.
n.,I;rb, u,,e i,,c on,,i,1 ,yb,,